Moline Riverside Riverslide ready for ‘super busy’ summer

Taylor Wages was busy getting several big and small jobs done on Friday, May 4, for the opening later this month of Moline’s updated and renovated Riverside Riverslide water park. During her work, she had a chance to look forward to the upcoming swimming pool season. “It’s going to be a great summer. We’re going […]

Taylor Wages was busy getting several big and small jobs done on Friday, May 4, for the opening later this month of Moline’s updated and renovated Riverside Riverslide water park. During her work, she had a chance to look forward to the upcoming swimming pool season. “It’s going to be a great summer. We’re going to be super busy,” said the 16-year-old Moline girl, who describes herself as a “normal lifeguard” at Riverside.

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That super busy season will begin Saturday, May 25, when Riverside Riverslide reopens. The season will run through Monday, Sept. 2, which is more than three weeks longer than past seasons. The updated facility features three new slides – tube slide, body slide and speed slide –  as well as a lazy river, splash pad, shared park shelter, lights, updated concessions and a family restroom, along with an updated pump house, renovated pool house and much more. “(Those slides) are bigger, better than the old slides,” Eric Griffith, Moline’s parks and recreation director, said on Friday, May 3, as he gave local media representatives an early tour of the water park. Late last year, city officials also announced the Riverside Family Aquatic Center name would change to Riverside Riverslide. The name change, announced by the Moline Parks and Recreation Department, was made in conjunction with the then ongoing upgrades and improvements to the city’s public swimming pool at 3300 5th Ave. Those upgrades to the water park cost about $7 million. The complete Riverside project – which includes ongoing parking lot expansion work near Riverside Riverslide – will cost about $9.5 million, added Mr. Griffith. The parking lot work is scheduled to be complete by the time the water park opens ahead of Memorial Day.  During Friday’s preseason tour, Mr. Griffith pointed out the numerous features to the updated Riverside park. In addition to the slides and other water features, the park also features about four black life-sized dog figures that are positioned around the facility.  Those figures are actually dog decoys that are meant to keep geese away from the park. When the swimming season starts, the decoys will be placed around the park’s fenceline in the hopes of keeping geese and other birds from flying into the park, making a mess and bothering swimmers. (The decoys are black silhouettes that resemble German shepherds or other large dog breeds.) The fake dogs are mounted on a spring device that gives the decoys some movement when a gust of wind hits them. By the time the swimming season starts, there will be more than 50 employees at Riverside Riverslide, Mr. Griffith said. He added that the park is almost fully staffed, but he is always looking for more lifeguards. “If you want to be a lifeguard, we want you,” he said. (For more information on becoming a lifeguard at the park, contact Amanda Bolt at abolt@moline.il.us.) Ms. Bolt, who is the city’s recreation coordinator, also was busy with a variety of jobs on Friday afternoon. She said some of her favorite parts of the updated park are all those key components that are usually out of sight. “It’s exciting to get to work with the new technology that is now in the park, like the many pumps. … I like what people don’t see,” she said. What people will see are the massive slides in the corner of the park. During Friday’s tour, the water was running down those slides, and warning signs were already posted for the upcoming season. Some of the top rules posted on the signs include: No head first sliding; Only one rider at a time, forming “chains” is prohibited; no diving from the slide; and all riders must be at least 48 inches tall. When Riverside Riverslide opens, admission to the park will be $7 per person. Admission for children (ages 3 and under) will be $3 per person. Lap swim will be $3 per person and water walking also will be $3. In 2022, Moline Parks and Recreation and Two Rivers YMCA teamed up to create a partnership that allows Two Rivers YMCA members to visit Riverside Riverslide as part of their membership, at no additional cost. Those interested in unlimited use of Riverside Riverslide and other family-friendly Two Rivers YMCA amenities will be able to sign up for membership onsite or online at www.TwoRiversYMCA.org. The YMCA offers monthly and income-based membership so that no-one is turned away due to the inability to pay. Also, birthday party packages and private rentals will be available at Riverside Riverslide in the new Party Pavilion. Birthday parties are held during open swim hours and patrons will have two package options to choose from: Big Splash or Little Splash. Go here for more information. “This is going to be an amazing season. … It's going to be great to see people here again,” added Ms. Wages, who is anxious to be lifeguarding there. Another area water park – The Landing in Bettendorf – also is making progress. However, that facility now is not expected to open until 2025. That facility was originally scheduled to open this May. But in February, citing “challenges that are out of our control,” the City of Bettendorf and the YMCA of the Iowa Mississippi Valley announced that the opening of The Landing’s pool is being pushed back a year until 2025.